Hi all, my wife and I are looking to get down from Western Mass to Maryland this spring for a tour.
In looking at the GAP trail from Pittsburgh to DC, it looks a little static for our liking and I wouldn’t want us to get bored in the five days it would take us to do the full thing. Doing only part of it isn’t an option because Amtrak can really only get us + bikes to one end or the other of the complete trail.
Alternatively, we could get off the train in Harrisburg PA and ride through Gettysburg before meeting up with the GAP in Harper’s Ferry to follow it to DC. This would be three days total of Harrisburg > Harper’s Ferry > DC. Planned route is here: https://www.strava.com/routes/3159251102859048638
My questions to you all are: Is the GAP trail more exciting than I’m anticipating? Does anyone have local knowledge of the alternative route I’ve linked above? Is there a third option that I haven’t considered?
In the past I’ve blindly planned routes and some parts aren’t exactly what I anticipated and then my wife is less than thrilled with me. Hoping for some advice to help guide our planning. Thanks!
by goldenageretriever
2 Comments
The GAP only goes from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD. Amtrak serves both cities. It’s a *rail trail* so there are stretches where all you see is trees on either side. Leaving Pittsburgh there are river views and industrial relics to see. As former railroad lines it passes through a lot of interesting small towns. There are also a couple of spectacular vistas. I wasn’t bored at all.
The C&O canal goes from Cumberland to Washington DC. There you are riding on a towpath. It’s a whole ‘nother thing.
The Amtrak train between Pittsburgh and DC stops at several towns/cities if you don’t want to do the full Pittsburgh-to-DC trail. You can find them here: [https://www.amtrak.com/capitol-limited-train](https://www.amtrak.com/capitol-limited-train)
Check out this site for some bike-specific information on the Pittsburgh-DC train:
[https://gaptrail.org/amenities/amtraks-capitol-limited/](https://gaptrail.org/amenities/amtraks-capitol-limited/)
It explains that “*For an extra $20 on top of your regular fare, you can secure your bicycle in a retrofitted baggage car and get on or off at any station.”*